Life is better in red

Tag Archives: guest bloggers

Hiii everyone! Unfortunately in Ohio, we didn’t get to enjoy a whole lot of spring weather. It was desperately cold with a few nice days and now we have already skyrocketed into temperatures in the 80’s. I am so not thrilled about it, because Lil Red was not made for extreme heat. So, with summer weather basically here in Ohio, I figured I would announce a call to action for some guest bloggers!

If you have a warm weather OOTD or MOTD, summer vaca travel tips, favorite recipes, or activities and want to share it with my audience in over one hundred and eighty different countries, then please shoot me an email at: sarah.mush6794@gmail.com . I look forward to hearing from all of you! Much love. -Sarah

Hiii! Starting on Friday, I will be enjoying a long weekend visiting my brother and his wife in Atlanta, Georgia. I have been so busy for the past couple of months making up for lost time at work post surgery and now preparing for my move, so a little trip will be just what I need before my move in date the following weekend. While I am away, I would be happy to feature some guest bloggers on my page. So, if you have a post that you are particularly proud of or would like to create something new, please shoot me an email at: sarah.mush6794@gmail.com! THANKS! ❤

Helloooo! We are more than halfway through with February and, believe it or not, spring will be here before we know it. At least, I have to keep telling myself that! But, there’s no reason why the blogosphere can’t feel as springy as possible. So, if you would like to relay on a spring themed guest post to lifewithlilred, we can spread warm thoughts like wild fire! If you would like to be featured on my page for the day with a springy post, please email me at: sarah.mush6794@gmail.com . 🙂

These posts can be anything from an OOTD and flower planting advice to an MOTD or spring cleaning tips. I can’t wait to hear from all of you! Much love. -Sarah

Hi everyone! Today’s post is guest written by my sweet friend, Ester. Her blog is excellent and chock full of gorgeous photos, travel, and well written passages. So, do be sure to check out her page and give it some love! Please enjoy this lovely guest post and if you are interested in sharing your work on lifewithlilred, shoot me an email at: sarah.mush6794@gmail.com !

Dear World,

A week or so ago, I was talking to my boss about sales at Christmas time and how that’s having an impact on how we exchange presents now compared to previous years. This conversation then made me think about all of the little traditions I’ve been changing and adapting every year and how I now live the Christmas period today. It is very interesting how we all try to follow the traditions because that’s what makes us human (that is, culture) but we also want to adapt them to our modern world.

I’m personally very okay with breaking the rules, I’ve been doing that my whole life. I like traditions with a twist. On the one hand, I love how comfortable and homey it feels following a ritual, but I also want to change my lifestyle for the best. Moreover, spending the Christmas holidays in other countries and being exposed to other cultures had an impact on how I now spend my time in December. So without further ado, here are the traditions that I am okay breaking this Christmas:

Ordering your Christmas dinner online:

Last year I spent hours cooking what I really wanted to be an absolute wonder of a meal. I slow-cooked the lamb and I tried my best to make a chestnut puree. It took me a whole afternoon of grocery shopping and a whole morning spent in the kitchen to go through all of that. The result, though, was a disaster. I think I put so much pressure on myself because I really wanted to somehow cook this Masterchef dinner that I screwed it all up. The meat was not tender and the puree was just uneatable. Somehow,I managed to finish it out of compassion and pity.

This year. I’m not going to repeat that experience or decide that I’ll magically become a chef in no time. That’s why my Christmas dinner will be kindly and lovingly prepared by Waitrose and Partners. I’m sure it will be much better than what I could ever cook myself. We will eat it at our place, next to the Christmas tree while drinking a good bottle of Prosecco. I’ll have the morning to relax and call all of my family and friends in Italy and I won’t be panicking in the kitchen. I, too, deserve to enjoy my Christmas morning.

Exchanging gifts after Christmas:

This is actually the topic that led me to write this post in the first place. Here in London families are now embracing a new tradition: instead of exchanging presents on Christmas day, they organise a shopping trip to the mall on Boxing Day (or the week after Christmas) to buy each other what they really want at a cheaper price. If you think about it, that’s a win-win situation: everyone will receive what they want and the cost will be heavily reduced by the sales.

I know, I agree that is very nice and special to open your presents on Christmas day but, hey, you could have one gift under the tree and the rest at the Boxing Day sales. I, myself, have decided to wait a bit longer to buy my own Christmas present this year (I always treat myself to something special) because, by waiting a week or two I can buy my gift at half price. So, why not?

If you’re in London for Christmas, try and find Harry Potter’s magic wand!

Eating way too much:

My relationship with food used to be quite complicated. I’m now fine but, if I eat too much, my stomach hurts badly. To be fair, I suppose it’s quite normal. If we eat too much, we don’t feel great at all. That’s why I always need to make sure I don’t cross that line at Christmas. I really hate feeling nauseated with stomach pain and a heavy head during the holidays. Also, I don’t want to ruin all of the hard work that I’ve been doing for the past few weeks.

This means, that I’ll do my best to go running once a week. But, I will also make sure that I won’t have three slices of Panettone in one day. I’m sure you know your limits, as well.

Wrapping paper:

I’m not very good at leading an environmentally-friendly lifestyle but, after living in London for almost two years, I understand the importance and urgency to do so. Here in the city, everything is wrapped in plastic or paper. Every single lunch has some plastic in it and we all abuse the use of plastic bottles. It was a friend of mine who made me notice it and it’s very true, so I’m now trying to be more sensitive to that matter.

For this reason, I’m also considering what to do with wrapping paper. Not all wrapping paper can be recycled. Foil or glitter-decorated paper cannot be recycled and the same goes if there’s sticky tape or decorations on it. My suggestion here would be to make sure you buy wrapping paper that can be recycled easily – even better if that’s made with recycled paper.

Of course, I understand the huge importance of traditions in our life and I, myself, love gathering together with my family to spend a wonderful Christmas together. However, traditions can be adapted to lifestyle and personal preferences. At the end of the day, what really counts is that we all spend a memorable day surrounded by the people we love the most because that’s what will make us happy.

What do you think? Are there any traditions that you are going to break or bend this Christmas? Let me know what your plans are for the holidays!

Best,

Ester Piubeni

My website: esterpiubeni.com

My Instagram account: ester_piubeni

Thank you again to Ester for her guest post on lifewithlilred! Happy holidays! Much love. -Sarah

Howdy! For some of us, winter weather is already in full swing and, for others, it will be arriving soon enough. Some of the lucky ones, though, don’t experience the cold at all! No matter what the situation is in your neck of the woods, Lil Red wants to feature your winter themed posts on the ol’ blog. From favorite recipes and frosty makeup looks to bundled up OOTDs and holiday shopping tips, I want it all! If you are interested in guest blogging on my page for some winter fun, please shoot me an email at: sarah.mush6794@gmail.com ! Much love. -Sarah

Hi everyone and happy weekend! I am just sending out a friendly reminder that I would still love to have anyone and everyone on my blog coming up next month while I’ll be out of office. If you are interested in being featured on lifewithlilred for the day, then please email me at: sarah.mush6794@gmail.com with your ideas for a fall or Halloween themed post! Thank you! ❤

Hello everyone! Today, my friend Christina of Stiina Marie is back to teach us some fall words and phrases used in Norway. If you recall, Christina guest blogged on lifewithlilred a few weeks ago and has been kind enough to return to teach us some more of a new language. As you all know, I personally love to learn different languages, so this post is right up my alley! Thank you so much, Christina! xx

Fall Words – Høst Ord

Today, I am going to teach you various words pertaining to fall that are in Bokmål – the main language of Norway. Read the pronunciation in italics as it would be in English.

There is a slight “R” roll in Bokmål. This is similar to Spanish. To properly learn Norwegian, this exercise is a great start! Try listening to Norwegian movies and music that are already familiar to you. Disney movies are almost always a hit!

Any words that you would like to learn that I can help you with? Drop a message below!

Thanks again to Christina for taking the time to teach us something new! What languages can you speak? What do you think is the best way to learn a new language? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah